North Georgia could turn pretty soggy Wednesday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicholas send rain and tropical moisture this way.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said the region can say goodbye to “all that sunshine, all that dry weather” from the past few days as rain chances increase Wednesday. The morning hours should stay mainly dry, but showers and storms will become 60% likely as the day goes on, he said.
The storm, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression, is still moving slowly across the Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning. Monahan expects it will spin its wheels in southern Louisiana for a while before eventually petering out. Even as Nicholas falls apart, he said, tropical moisture will continue to drift to the east.
“We’re going to be soggy kind of off and on over the next couple of days as that tropical moisture from Nicholas makes its way in our direction,” he said.
Most of North Georgia is off to a dry start Wednesday with no rain to trouble the morning commute in metro Atlanta or in the mountains. West Georgia is getting some showers to begin the day, Monahan said.
“Until about lunchtime, we’re OK,” he said. “Rain chances at about 20 to 30% or less. But they are really building mid- to late afternoon and into this evening as some pretty wet weather moves in.”
After about 1 p.m., Monahan expects isolated showers to become more widespread. It could turn wet and stormy for the evening commute, he said, causing “some big issues” on the roads late into Wednesday night.
Southside neighborhoods should the see the heaviest and steadiest rain as a result of Tropical Depression Nicholas, he said. The tropical system will impact North Georgia’s weather for the next few days, resulting in another 60% chance of rain and storms Thursday and a 40% chance Friday, according to Channel 2.
All that rain will have the benefit of dropping temperatures. Wednesday’s projected high is 82, and Atlanta should not leave the 70s Thursday, according to the latest forecast.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Dry pavement for the morning commute is lending itself to a smooth start, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
“Overall things are looking good, but we do have some delays in Clayton County,” traffic reporter Heather Catlin said.
A crash was blocking all but one left lane on I-75 North before Forest Parkway, she said at 6:30 a.m. Commuters can use Tara Boulevard or I-675 to avoid the delays.
The Downtown Connector is delay-free before daybreak.
“It is looking perfect,” Catlin said. “Speed limit conditions in both directions. But we do have an Atlanta United game tonight at 7 p.m. that is really going to start congestion around 5 p.m.”
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
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